Czech news in brief for June 22: Monday's top morning headlines

Good morning. If you're watching Czech Television today, you'll notice presenters in black and World Cup coverage running a minute late: Czech TV and Radio staff are on a 24-hour warning strike over the government's plan to scrap licence fees. The cabinet also meets today to resolve months of deadlock over who represents Czechia at July's NATO summit in Ankara.

Meanwhile the heat that sent knights scrambling out of their armor in Kutná Hora this weekend isn't going anywhere 35°C is forecast again by Friday. Here's your mix.

A 24-hour warning strike at Czech Television and Czech Radio began shortly after midnight, with staff protesting the government's plan to replace licence fees with direct state budget funding. News, current affairs and World Cup coverage will start one minute late, with reduced content on websites and social media. Children's channels programming is not affected; presenters are appearing in black. Under the plan, both institutions would face a cut of around CZK 1.4 billion in total, and could shed between 450 and 700 of their 4,250 staff.

On the streets today: Protest rallies are planned outside the ČRo building on Vinohradská and ČT's news headquarters at Kavčí hory.

The cabinet meets today to resolve a months-long dispute with President Petr Pavel over who will represent Czechia at July's NATO summit in Ankara, with Babiš having promised a resolution after last Thursday's alliance defence ministers' meeting. The cabinet will also take up a public finances outlook to 2030 and a controversial amendment that would restrict journalist and NGO access to the beneficial ownership register.

A constitutional grey zone: Czech law doesn't clearly assign foreign-policy representation to either president or cabinet. This dispute is less about Ankara than about which institution gets to set that precedent.

Astronomical summer arrived on Sunday at 4:43 a.m. (the year's longest day) and the heat is not going anywhere. Monday brings some cloud and scattered thunderstorms, with temperatures reaching 31°C, but a high pressure system moving over central Europe will drive temperatures back up through the week, hitting 34°C by Thursday and potentially exceeding 35°C again by the weekend. Below-average rainfall is expected all week, accelerating the onset of drought conditions.

Worth knowing: Supertropical days, above 35°C, are forecast for the end of the week, and meteorologists say significant cooling is unlikely before next week at the earliest.

Health Minister Adam Vojtěch announced on Sunday that maternity wards performing fewer than 600 births a year will close as part of a nationwide restructuring of the Czech healthcare network, a direct response to last year's record-low birth rate of 77,600, the lowest figure since 1806. Twelve of the country's 94 maternity units currently fall below that threshold. The minister also called for 9,500 additional follow-up care beds to be created by 2035–40 to meet the needs of a rapidly ageing population.

Built for a different country: The Czech healthcare network was designed around a younger, larger population. The closures will hit regional hospitals hardest.

Nearly half of Czech gastronomic businesses now offer a loyalty program, up from 12 per cent in 2022, and digital cards are rapidly replacing paper stamp cards. If your regular lunch spot or coffee place has one, it's increasingly likely to live in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet rather than your jacket pocket; customers with active programs return up to 30 per cent more often, according to data from digitization firm Choice.

Prague residents vs. Airbnb, still losing: Nearly 7,000 Prague properties are listed on short-term rental platforms, with landlords earning an average of CZK 571,000 a year, while the city is legally capped at collecting CZK 50 per guest per night, compared to the equivalent of CZK 280 in Paris. Prague councillors have been pushing for tighter controls, including a 60-day annual rental cap, but the law hasn't moved.

Raccoons vs. Czechia, raccoons winning: The northern raccoon, garbage-can raider, chicken-coop opportunist, destroyer of protected crayfish, now occupies 10 to 12 per cent of Czech territory, and hunters report the animals have already learned to avoid their traps. Conservationists estimate tens of thousands of individuals and put the odds of full elimination at essentially zero.

Knights vs. heatwave, Kutná Hora: The Royal Silvering Gothic festival returned to Kutná Hora this weekend for its 32nd year, drawing thousands to horse tournaments and knightly duels, though at least one knight had to be helped out of his armor after overheating in the 30-degree temperatures.